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Johnny Dollar (March 8, 1933 - April 13, 1986) was an American Rockabilly singer, guitarist, and songwriter, born in Kilgore, Texas. He was a member of the KRLD Big D Jamboree and the WWVA Original Jamboree. The son of Creek Indians who had relocated from Oklahoma, Johnny attended schools in Kilgore, Fredericksburg, Crab Apple Creek, and Junction. In 1948, he lived with an older brother in Sheridan, Texas, and attended Schreiner’s Military Academy. At seventeen, he joined the Marines and left home permanently. After his service, he worked in the oilfields of West Texas and as a truck driver and lumberyard hand while taking on occasional singing jobs. In 1952, Dollar recorded a single titled “Walking Away” for D Records at his own expense. He later worked as a deejay in Louisiana and New Mexico, started a band called the Texas Sons, and performed regularly on the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport. He also recorded another single, “Lumberjack,” on Slim Willett’s Winston label. By the late 1950s, he was in Dallas, playing rockabilly and became a regular member of the Big D Jamboree after connecting with its owner and promoter, Ed McLemore.

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